FOS Review - July 4th to the 11th

[jhaasz]

This was our 9th cruise on RCI. This is a fairly quick review – if you have any further questions, please let me know.

 

Two days prior – we decided to stay in Cocoa Beach to go to the Kennedy Space Center. We used Ace Luxury for transportation from Orlando Airport to Port Canaveral (about $140 with gratuity for a SUV) – the price was right (the cheapest I could find) and the service was excellent – I would highly recommend them.

 

Cocoa Beach – We originally had a reservation at the Hilton but, after reading the reviews on Trip Advisor, opted for the Doubletree instead. Even though it was further from Port Canaveral than the Radisson, the grounds were nice, the service was excellent, the rooms were decent (the ocean view was gorgeous) and the food was reasonable. Granted, this was not a “cheap” hotel – about $195 per night with tax – but well worth the money.

 

Kennedy Space Center – This was much further from our hotel than we were led to believe. We paid $45 each way for a taxi to go to the Space Center. I had always wanted to go – it was okay, something to see once but I don’t think I would go back.

 

Shuttle to the airport – The Doubletree recommended Beachline Transportation – right on time with the pick-up, $5 per person, perfect – no issues.

 

****For those of you wondering why we did not rent a car, we would have had to rent a minivan from the airport to Port Canaveral at a total cost of $263 for two days (high price because of the drop-off in a different location). With what we paid for the transportation during our time there (plus gratuities), it ended up being almost the same price without the hassle.

 

Arriving at the Pier – We arrived at about 11:30 am. There was a line to enter the building but, once you were through security, things moved quickly. We were on the ship and sitting in the Windjammer before noon.

 

Cruise itself – We noticed a few cutbacks – no chocolates on the pillows; the Windjammer now closes at 9:00 pm; the food for lunch at the Windjammer was always the same – hamburgers and hot dogs, pizza, salad, the usual Asian items, cold cuts, and some pasta. After a couple of days, it did get old. Also, not as much variety of the sandwiches at Café Promenade. Of course, we didn’t let this deter us.

 

We did have a problem one night in the dining room (2nd formal night). Everyone at our table (four of us) ordered two lobster tail dinners. Two in our party received the two tails and myself and my husband were kept waiting for our second tail. During the 30-45 minutes we were kept waiting we were told it was coming. After waiting all that time, we were told that the chef would no longer make anymore. We were furious – why were we left waiting for so long for a meal that wasn’t coming? It wouldn’t have been a big deal if they told us right away but to say it was coming for 30-45 minutes? Unacceptable.

We spoke to the Deck 3 Dining Room Manager (why were we left waiting for so long if it wasn’t coming) and he told us that their policy was one tail per person (huh? – the head waiter, waitress and even the Purser - who previously had worked in the dining room - had never heard of this). We asked to speak to his manager and were told to go to guest relations. The chef then came out and asked us how everything was and we asked for the rest of our food – the lobster tails miraculously appeared, piping hot.

 

We decided to go to guest relations to complain – not so much about the lobster tail but that the Deck 3 Dining Room Manager had lied to us. It turned out that we had met the Restaurant Manager on a previous cruise. When we explained to him what had happened and who we had spoken to (Mauricio), he told us that that person was not on this cruise – huh? It turns out that the Deck 3 Dining Room Manager had lied about his name (he had kept his name tag covered the whole time while speaking to us). I told Domenic that if that gentleman worked for me, I would put him off in the next port for lying. Ultimately, Dominic did make it up to us – we were asked if we would like a filet mignon from Chops the next evening, an offer of which three of our party of four took with thanks and gratitude.

 

Overall, we had a great time – the incident at dinner was extremely aggravating and upsetting but once we said our piece, we decided to get over it and move on. Also, the best news – we won some money in the casino the last night – so much so that we ended up leaving the cruise ship with more than we arrived with – which was nice.

 

Post-Cruise – We stayed at the Hyatt at the airport and loved it – service was excellent, rooms were nice, and the best part was that you could eat/shop anywhere in the airport on the 3rd floor. Also, upon checkout, the bellman brought us to the Continental counter, waited on line with us and then brought our bags directly to the scale. We had one room with points and one room at a price of $120 (plus tax) which included a free breakfast buffet – well worth the money.

 

So, overall, would I sail RCI again? If the price was right and the itinerary decent, sure. Honestly, though, I think the Carnival product is better than RCI’s and will be returning to Carnival next year, where they have more variety in their Windjammer, the food is ultimately better and I’ll still have chocolates on my pillow in the evening. :)

[jhaasz]

One thing I forgot to post - on the last sea day of our cruise, they had a "buffet" in the Royal Promenade from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. There were breads, carving stations and desserts (I remember the chocolate covered strawberries the most). It was neat to walk through the Promenade and try the various items that were available - a very nice touch instead of a midnight buffet.